UCT student launches social commerce site

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Published on Tuesday, 14 February 2012 00:00

Written by Olivia Wainwright

On Monday January 23rd Ivan Cadri, a third-year computer science and electrical engineering student, launched www.ripplesale.com.

The website, set up for the use of UCT students, is a social network which allows students to advertise and buy items online.

Cadri describes the website as “just an attempt at social commerce, trying to use community networks to run their own retail.” By keeping the website within the student community, Cadri hopes that people will be able to buy and sell the items they need quickly and more economically. 

Currently, UCT has no such website. Students often sell books through shops on campus, which take a percentage of the profits. With the launch of Ripple Sale, this could change. 

Not only does the website allow students to interact with each other socially and financially, it also uses a database which records the sales and purchases of students, as well as the items they have browsed. In the  future, this technology will be used to provide suggested merchandise to its users. 

Cadri believes his website offers something new to students, saying, “I picked on social commerce because it was a ‘fresh’ idea. It would be difficult to top Facebook or Google+ as social networks, yet I still think this whole student retail idea might not have been tackled yet.” 

The website has the potential not just for individuals but for student groups and student-run businesses to sell online.  

The site relies on large numbers of users in order to work effectively. Cadri explains: “The only way to predict the future is to use the past. The only way I can suggest what books a law student will be buying at this time of the year is dependent on what a similar law student was buying or selling this time last year.”

If the website is successful, Cadri hopes the idea will spread to other universities and communities, saying “the possibilities are endless.”

For more information or to sign up, go to www.ripplesale.com.